


What If and What Is

by IrogicalArgument



Series: The World is Our Sandbox [2]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen, Reflection, angsty, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 23:35:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8598226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrogicalArgument/pseuds/IrogicalArgument
Summary: Vincent has some time to think, he isn't sure if he likes the outcome of that.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The second in my one-shots to be transferred over.
> 
> This one is based on Hurricane by Thirty Seconds To Mars

The sounds of destruction reached the ears of Vincent Valentine as he attempted to ride out the massive hurricane in one of the large underground caves near the coastline. There was always the risk of drowning if he got flooded, but with the steep drop to one side and the opening facing away from the water, there was a slight chance he could escape before it got too bad. Besides, he had well outlived his time on Gaia. Dying now could be a boon in disguise for his battered soul. He no longer yearned for death, like he had when he was locked in a coffin below ShinRa mansion. But at times while he wandered alone the urge snuck upon him. A boom shook him from his introspective, and he glanced out just in time to see a house sweep past his cave. The house was blown into the air and came down with a boom similar to the one that had lifted him from his thoughts. A look outside left him slightly dumbstruck. He knew Gaia could produce some monstrous disasters, but this was extreme. The destruction he could see from his hiding spot reminded him of the aftermath of the many fights he had participated in back when Cloud was his leader and not just his friend. The journey to defeat Sephiroth was one he would never forget to his dying day. And yet it was only now with the howling winds drowning out the world could he see the actual inner workings of that year. Only in this dimly lit cave that was awash with sickly colored storm light could he see the sinister clues that he had hidden behind the thoughts of his beloved friends.

 

Cloud and Sephiroth were not so different after all.

 

Sure the blonde haired man wasn’t out to destroy the world, but nearly every admirable trait that he saw in Cloud he could see in the former general. Cloud was a strong fighter that would put himself on the front lines in a fight that had no particular outcome. The papers he had read that had been printed back during ShinRa’s golden days spoke of a Silver Demon that had terrorized Wutai in person. Cloud had a charisma that drew those around him to his cause. And yet, Cloud himself had at one point been drawn by a similar magnetism to Sephiroth himself. Counting out Cloud’s faithful friends and superior fighting skills were countered by the stories Cloud had heard from Zack and the memories of his defeat at Sephiroth’s hands. Even the torture that Cloud had suffered at Hojo’s hands could be countered by the life of pain that Sephiroth had endured before he snapped.

 

Another thought came to mind, and this one was even harder to bear. Cloud had snapped under the pressure and torture just as Sephiroth had. The personality that had drawn them to Cloud was a remnant of Zack’s. The mannerisms and endurance were a byproduct of a man he had never met. In fact, only one thing actually separated Cloud and Sephiroth.

 

Cloud hadn’t crashed and burned on his path.

 

Both of the men had, at one point, killed to save others. Each had laid down their lives to prove that what they thought should become of Gaia was the truth of it. In the end, neither of the two men had truly wanted the other dead. With broken minds and broken hearts, they had only continued on the paths they had before them. They wanted the other man alive so that they would always have an obstacle to overcome. To always have a challenge and something to fight.

 

Cloud and Sephiroth could have been the same man. They could have walked each other’s path. If things had been different, he might have followed Sephiroth into battle against an insane and overpowered Cloud. 

 

With the storm raging around him and the air growing steadily colder Vincent shivered inside his cloak as all the thoughts of ‘What if’ circled through his mind like a raging hurricane.


End file.
